Joshua Kushnerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/joshua-kushner
en-usFri, 18 Aug 2017 02:12:27 -0400Fri, 18 Aug 2017 02:12:27 -0400The latest news on Joshua Kushner from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cadre-and-how-to-invest-in-its-real-estate-deals-2016-6Google and Facebook employees are flocking to a startup that's raised ~$70 million to shake up the real estate worldhttp://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cadre-and-how-to-invest-in-its-real-estate-deals-2016-6
Thu, 23 Jun 2016 13:48:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p><br /><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/576c1034dd08958e638b4a93-800/usa-nyc-soho-the_puck_building.jpg" alt="USA NYC Soho The_Puck_Building" data-mce-source="Wikimedia Commons" data-mce-caption="Cadre's headquarters is to the 5th floor of the Puck building in Manhattan." data-link="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USA-NYC-Soho-The_Puck_Building.jpg" />A few miles east of Manhattan, in Astoria Queens, a suite of&nbsp;residential buildings&nbsp;that house&nbsp;millennials and retail stores&nbsp;was&nbsp;recently purchased&nbsp;for $60 million.</p>
<p>But it wasn't a&nbsp;traditional real estate transaction. The 20 investors weren't private equity funds;&nbsp;the property wasn't even listed by a big brokerage firm.&nbsp;And&nbsp;the entire process, from the day it was listed to time it was completed, took a matter of&nbsp;weeks rather than months.</p>
<p>The four-building property was listed on <a href="https://cadre.com/">Cadre</a>, a 40-person startup that has been quietly working out of the Puck building in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood&nbsp;since late 2014. There, a team of former Square, Google and Facebook executives have gathered to shake up the real-estate world.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/576c1034dd08958e638b4a94-565/ryan williams headshot.jpeg" alt="Ryan Williams cadre ceo founder" data-mce-source="Cadre" data-mce-caption="Ryan Williams is the CEO and cofounder of Cadre" />One hire was apparently so important to&nbsp;Twitter that CEO Jack Dorsey is said to have flown&nbsp;to New York to try and reverse the employee's decision. The employee stayed at Cadre.</p>
<p>The team is led by&nbsp;a 27-year-old former Goldman Sachs,&nbsp;Blackstone and Harvard alumn, Ryan Williams, who has attracted a team of high-profile investors and advisors. Over the past year and a half, Cadre&nbsp;has raised $68 million from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Goldman Sachs, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, DST's Yuri Milner, real-estate moguls Jared and Joshua Kushner, and others. Advisors include TPG's co-CEO Jon Winkelreid and SL Green's president Andrew Mathias.</p>
<p>Cadre is a platform where approved sellers ("operators") can apply to post carefully vetted commercial real estate deals, from stores to apartment buildings to offices. A network of high-wealth individuals or "qualified purchasers"&nbsp;who&nbsp;want to make real estate investments &mdash; but haven't previously had access to deals &mdash; can drop $500,000 or more on individual&nbsp;properties. Currently, all of Cadre's listed properties are&nbsp;located&nbsp;in the US, but the startup&nbsp;plans to expand internationally.</p>
<p>"If I said to you, 'How would you go about buying that building over there?' You'd probably say, 'I don't know,'"</p>
<blockquote class="pullquote">If I said to you, 'How would you go about buying that building over there?' You'd probably say, 'I don't know.'</blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;Williams&nbsp;explained Cadre's opportunity to&nbsp;Tech Insider.&nbsp;"If you do know, it's probably because you know a fund. But even&nbsp;then, if you were able to get to that building and that fund, then how do you see what's going on with your investment?"</p>
<p>To invest in real estate, wealthy individuals typically need to invest in&nbsp;a real estate&nbsp;fund,&nbsp;which then makes all the decisions on which buildings to invest in, without providing many details to the backers. The investors' money is then tied up for five to seven years, with no opportunity to sell their&nbsp;interest in the meantime and no real-time updates are provided.</p>
<p>Cadre's vision is to offer an alternative that makes the real estate market more like the stock market. People can&nbsp;purchase portions of a specific building, the same way they can choose a specific company to buy stock in. Cadre investors can't currently sell their positions at any time though,&nbsp;but that may change in the future.</p>
<p>"Funds are opaque and you don't have a good sense of what's happening underneath the hood," Williams said.&nbsp;"Cadre's mission is to create a more efficient economy where we can connect the world's buyers and sellers in opaque assets that have been inaccessible to many."</p>
<h2><strong>How Cadre's platform works</strong></h2>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/576c1034dd08958e638b4a95-1033/screen shot 2016-06-22 at 11.59.15 am.png" alt="cadre team ryan williams" data-mce-source="Cadre" data-mce-caption="The Cadre team." />On Cadre, the platform looks like an e-commerce store &mdash; just with price tags ranging between $50 million and $250 million.</p>
<p>When you click on one of the buildings, you're taken to a beautiful landing page full of stats and information that's presented like a baseball card, with a transaction overview, executive summary, the purchase price, how much equity is available, a dynamic&nbsp;FAQ section and more.</p>
<p>For sellers, Cadre is an&nbsp;opportunity to get a deal done relatively quickly and cheaply &mdash; if your property is accepted (only about 1% of everything Cadre's team vets gets listed on the platform). Cadre has less overhead than many funds, and thus Cadre says it can charge&nbsp;sellers about 50% less&nbsp;in fees.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/576c1034dd08958e638b4a96-1181/screen shot 2016-06-17 at 10.52.58 am.png" alt="cadre" data-mce-source="Cadre" />"The typical fee model is, there&rsquo;s an element of a double promote, or a 'carry,' like 2 and 20, that a larger&nbsp;fund would charge," Williams explained.&nbsp;"Then there&rsquo;s carry that an operator would charge. At Cadre we&rsquo;re basically eliminating the 2 and 20 that happens at the fund level."</p>
<p>"2 and 20" means funds typically charge investors 2% in annual fees and then 20% of any profits in exchange for access to the deals and&nbsp;management of their assets.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Once you've found an appealing Cadre property, the investing process is quick. Cadre asks how much money you'd like to invest, and the member plugs in an amount ranging from&nbsp;$500,000 to tens of millions. Williams says most of its 100 or so members have invested in two or three properties on Cadre, and the platform has already&nbsp;closed&nbsp;hundreds of millions of dollars&nbsp;in total volume.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/576c1034dd08958e638b4a97-1350/screen shot 2016-06-21 at 2.04.57 pm.png" alt="Amazon" data-mce-source="Amazon" data-mce-caption="Imagine each of these products is a building with a $50 to $250 million price tag. That's what Cadre's platform looks like for the 100 buyers and sellers that are currently able to use its platform." />Cadre then asks who you are investing on behalf of, yourself or an entity. If it's an entity, is it one in the US and is it tax exempt?</p>
<p>Then the investor requests allocation. Within a matter of weeks, they'll hear back from Cadre on the approved amount they can invest in the deal. Sometimes it's less than the investor wanted; historically, Cadre says its deals have been over-subscribed.</p>
<p>But if a&nbsp;listing does start to struggle, there's a backup plan.&nbsp;Cadre is partnered with an unnamed family office in New York City (Williams says it's not Trump) that gives&nbsp;Williams' team&nbsp;access to&nbsp;$250 million to&nbsp;guarantee funding on the platform.</p>
<p>Tech Insider was able to view a slightly outdated version of the Cadre platform in the company's headquarters, but Cadre declined to share screenshots for this story.</p>
<h2><strong>The&nbsp;CEO who's grabbing&nbsp;top talent from Google, Square and Facebook</strong></h2>
<p><img class="float_right float_left" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/576c1034dd08958e638b4a98-590/jaredjosh.jpg" alt="Jared Josh Kushner" data-mce-source="The New York Observer, Photo by Patrick McMullan" data-link="http://www.observer.com/2011/06/slideshow-the-new-york-observers-100-most-powerful-people-in-new-york-real-estate/jared-kushner-josh-kushner/" />Williams&nbsp;is a Louisiana native who has always been entrepreneurial. When he was twelve he started a sports tech company and sold it during his freshman year at Harvard, where he met his Cadre co-founder, Joshua Kushner.</p>
<p>Kushner is also&nbsp;the cofounder of&nbsp;health insurance startup Oscar and runs a startup investment firm, Thrive Capital. His&nbsp;brother Jared Kushner, who owns the <em>New York Observer</em> and runs his family's real estate business Kushner Properties, is the third Cadre co-founder.</p>
<p>In&nbsp;college, Williams started a real estate business that used technology to track homes as they came to auction. He ran that business on the side in the late 2000s, while he worked full-time at Goldman Sachs. He later joined Blackstone's real estate private equity group.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img class="float_left" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/576c1034dd08958e638b4a99-354/aaeaaqaaaaaaaajqaaaajdqzztyxyjgzlte2ogytndcwys05ztezlte3yzu0nze5ownjzq.jpg" alt="Andrew Borovsky" data-mce-source="LinkedIn" data-mce-caption="Andrew Borovsky was Square's director of product. Now he's a designer at Cadre." />In 2013, Williams&nbsp;discussed the idea for Cadre with Jared Kushner. The Kushner brothers became his first investors and advisors.</p>
<p>The Kushners and Williams&nbsp;believe&nbsp;Cadre's&nbsp;opportunity is massive. It's easy to imagine the platform expanding to other&nbsp;tiers of investors and to other financial services.</p>
<p>"Cadre is building a technology platform that democratizes investing in an asset class that has traditionally been incredibly difficult to access,"&nbsp;Joshua Kushner told Tech Insider in an emailed statement.</p>
<p>"I think that&rsquo;s going to be a trend you see moving forward&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;big industries from heath care to financial services, to the political world have been controlled by a few large players, and tech will evolve to&nbsp;completely revolutionize them," Williams explained.</p>
<p>"Real estate is one of the last frontiers&nbsp;...&nbsp;This is not a startup with a niche consumer focus. This is fundamentally an opportunity to transform the&nbsp;buying and selling experience."</p>
<p>He added, "We&rsquo;re chipping away at these gatekeepers who haven&rsquo;t really been pushed yet."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-latest-robot-can-do-your-dishes-while-being-adorable-2016-6" >Google's latest adorable robot can load your dishwasher</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cadre-and-how-to-invest-in-its-real-estate-deals-2016-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-uss-gerald-r-ford-aircraft-carrier-nimitz-2017-7">How the US's futuristic new aircraft carrier will change naval warfare forever</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/rising-vc-stars-in-nyc-2014-430 AND UNDER: Rising Stars In NY Tech Who Find Hot Startup Deals And Manage Millions Of Dollarshttp://www.businessinsider.com/rising-vc-stars-in-nyc-2014-4
Sun, 06 Apr 2014 15:16:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/533f050e6da81102150e8db0-620-465/cece-1.jpg" border="0" alt="cece cheng" /></p><p>When you're a venture capitalist investing in startups, it takes about seven years to know if you're doing a good job or not. That's how long it generally takes for a startup to exit and for you to know if you made a great investment or put money into a major flop.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of 20-somethings in New York who are helping source deals for their firms. They're taking board seats and being handed millions of dollars to find the best new companies around.</p>
<p>A few 20-somethings have left traditional firms and raised tens of millions of dollars for their own funds.</p>
<p>We rounded up a list of people who have already accomplished a lot in the New York startup scene. If they keep at it, they could become the next Ron Conways, Fred Wilsons, and Bill Gurleys.&nbsp;</p><h3>Max Stoller was formerly an engineer for a startup that was acquired by Groupon. Now he sources deals like Soylent for Lerer Ventures.</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/533f038c69beddb81f163dec-400-300/max-stoller-was-formerly-an-engineer-for-a-startup-that-was-acquired-by-groupon-now-he-sources-deals-like-soylent-for-lerer-ventures.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>Age:</strong> 23</p>
<p><strong>Title:</strong> Senior Associate, Lerer Ventures</p>
<p><strong>Deals led:</strong> Soylent, Runscope. Stoller was previously an engineer at HyperPublic, a startup that was acquired by Groupon, and an intern at Foursquare.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Caitlin Strandberg helped launch Flybridge Capital Partner's NYC office. She sits in on BetterCloud board meetings, and organizes a slew of events for women and up-and-comers in tech.</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/533dc868eab8ea13460c7567-400-300/caitlin-strandberg-helped-launch-flybridge-capital-partners-nyc-office-she-sits-in-on-bettercloud-board-meetings-and-organizes-a-slew-of-events-for-women-and-up-and-comers-in-tech.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><strong>Age:</strong> 25</p>
<p><strong>Title:</strong> Associate, Flybridge Capital Partners</p>
<p><strong>Startups she's worked with:</strong> &nbsp;Attends board meetings for BetterCloud. Co-hosts Women in VC lunches, breakfasts/events for young VCs in NYC, runs an email group of young VCs in NYC and hosts the Option Pool Party, a big event for up-and-coming tech talent in NYC startups. She was also Flybridge's first NYC hire and helped the firm open the office in 2012.&nbsp;<span>&nbsp;Prior to joining Flybridge, Caitlin worked for NYC startups, LearnVest and Behance. Behance was acquired by Adobe.&nbsp;</span></p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Jesse Beyroutey previously worked for Insight Venture Partners and is now an associate at IA Ventures. He has a board seat and is an observer at DigitalOcean.</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/533dc9c5eab8ea8d4d0c7561-400-300/jesse-beyroutey-previously-worked-for-insight-venture-partners-and-is-now-an-associate-at-ia-ventures-he-has-a-board-seat-and-is-an-observer-at-digitalocean.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p><span><strong>Age:</strong> 24</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Title:</strong> Associate at IA Ventures.</span></p>
<p><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Startups he's involved with:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> On the board of Updater, and observer at DigitalOcean, Sight Machine, Transcriptic, TransferWise, and Twice. He previously worked for Insight Venture Partners.</span></p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rising-vc-stars-in-nyc-2014-4#zack-schildhorn-led-the-shapeways-deal-for-lux-capital-where-hes-a-vp-and-director-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/oscar-plans-to-revolutionize-health-insurance-2013-10Here's Josh Kushner's Launch Ad Campaign For His New Health Care Startuphttp://www.businessinsider.com/oscar-plans-to-revolutionize-health-insurance-2013-10
Fri, 18 Oct 2013 13:43:00 -0400Richard Feloni
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/526152e0ecad04841fbd5e4c-480-/oscar%204-1.jpg" border="0" alt="oscar 4" width="480" />The words "health insurance" don't immediately conjure imagery of <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">cute cartoon characters with large fonts and soft colors</span>. <br /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But this is Oscar, New York entrepreneur and venture capitalist <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-launches-health-insurance-startup-oscar-2013-7" title="josh">Joshua Kushner's new health care startup</a>. He's launched a new ad campaign to introduce the provider, "Hi, we're Oscar, a new kind of insurance company." The name of their website is your reply: <a href="https://www.hioscar.com/" title="hioscar">HiOscar.com</a>.</span></p>
<p title="josh"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-launches-health-insurance-startup-oscar-2013-7" title="josh">Founded with</a> Microsoft's former director of health care Kevin Nazemi and former McKinsey &amp; Company computer scientist Mario Schlosser, the team amassed $40 million in investment and grabbed talent from places like Google and Tumblr.</p>
<p>Their goal was to take advantage of the way the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare) changed health insurance marketing, from business-to-business to business-to-consumer. Industry mainstays like Aetna are now <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/and-now-heres-an-addition-to-ogilvys-aetna-biz_b54419" title="aetna">working with ad agencies to change their images</a>, but Oscar has the advantage of starting without all that legacy "insurance" baggage.</p>
<p>The official New York state health insurance marketplace <a href="https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/" title="ny state">recently underwent a makeover</a>, from a horrid interface out of the 1990s to something more user-friendly, but Oscar manages to be even more user-friendly. Much more, actually.</p>
<p>"Health care should make a headache go away, not give someone a headache," said Oscar co-founder Nazemi in an interview with Business Insider.</p>
<p>With the goal of "humanizing health insurance," the team partnered with the New York agency Design and Acquisition (DandA), led by former president of marketing for Disney, M.T. Carney.</p>
<p>Kushner took the name Oscar from his great-grandfather. The team chose it because they wanted to personalize something most people hate dealing with due to its frustrating complexities.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Oscar VP of Marketing Veronica Parker-Hahn and DandA decided they would take the anti-stock photo approach. They came up with a diverse cast of characters getting attacked (in a charming way, of course) by bees, bears, and exploding potholes.</p>
<p>Their copy ads rely on large font, with messages like, "Health insurance that won't make your head explode. And if does, you're covered."</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5261558aeab8ea4e718062ee-798-765/oscar%205-1.jpg" border="0" alt="oscar 5" width="480" /></p>
<p>Oscar, which launches on Jan. 1, covers New York's downstate market &mdash; the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, and Rockland. Ads are appearing in the subway, online banners, and the streaming music service Pandora. They also have a ground campaign in neighborhoods with a high rate of the uninsured, like Washington Heights in Manhattan and Williamsburg in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>Their website looks great on mobile, tablets, and is shockingly simple.</p>
<p>The campaign is engaging, but runs the risk of seeming gimmicky. Nazemi insisted the concern is unfounded when combined with their services.</p>
<p>"We're not using technology for technology's sake. We're using it to make things simple," he said.</p>
<p>Oscar has 40,000 providers and 83 hospitals, and is heavily promoting its "Teladoc" feature. A client can place a call at any time of day and receive a guaranteed call-back from an Oscar doctor within an hour.</p>
<p>Nazemi said that he and his team have been thrilled with the response <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-will-change-with-obamacare-2013-10" title="obamacare">since Obamacare went live earlier this month</a>. According to him, their phone lines keep ringing and their site has gotten tens of thousands of hits each week.</p>
<p>Without revealing numbers, Nazemi said Oscar is "well on track" to exceed their goals when the coverage launches at the start of next year.</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see if Oscar registers with New Yorkers, and if the company avoids becoming another insurance company that just happens to have a cool site and funny commercials.</p>
<p>But it is clear that the team is aiming for nothing short of an industry revolution, and will want to grow if successful.</p>
<p>"We obviously don't want to get ahead of ourselves," said Nazemi, "but it's like that old saying. If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere."</p>
<p>You can check out the current video from DandA, which is kind of like a less-violent <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfTPlsIq7d0" title="htf">Happy Tree Friends</a>. Four more videos are on the way.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><iframe width="620" height="465" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/F0yNIR6IrCg"></iframe></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oscar-plans-to-revolutionize-health-insurance-2013-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-launches-health-insurance-startup-oscar-2013-7Joshua Kushner Has Quietly Amassed 25 Employees And $40 Million To Shake Up Health Care With A Startup, Oscarhttp://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-launches-health-insurance-startup-oscar-2013-7
Thu, 18 Jul 2013 11:20:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p class="p1"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/51e800c9eab8eaa708000007-480-/josh-kushner-kevin-systrom-prime-minister.jpg" border="0" alt="josh kushner kevin systrom prime minister" width="480" /></p><p>You won't find Joshua Kushner tweeting his whereabouts, tagged in Instagram photos or blogging about tech.</p>
<p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Although the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/karlie-kloss-is-dating-a-trump-in-law-2012-11">28-year-old dates a Victoria's Secret model</a>, the entrepreneur and venture capitalist keeps to himself. He rarely gives interviews and his firm's website, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-investor-joshua-kushner-has-raised-a-150-million-fund-2012-9">Thrive Capital</a>, doesn't even list the companies he's invested in, despite an impressive portfolio which <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/josh-kushner-thrive-capital-and-instagram-2012-4">includes Instagram</a>, NastyGal, Fab, Makerbot and GroupMe.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">That may be why Kushner has been able to keep his <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2013/07/17/hacking-obamacare-josh-kushner-targets-health-insurance-with-tech-start-up/">plans to disrupt the health care industry quiet</a> for nearly two years. But under everyone's nose he's poached engineers from Google, plucked a CTO from Tumblr, and raised $40 million.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The company Kushner is launching with Microsoft's former director of health care, Kevin Nazemi, and former <span>McKinsey &amp; Company computer scientist</span>, Mario Schlosser, is called Oscar. It will be a full-blown insurance company that rivals longstanding entities such as Aetna and UnitedHealth. But Oscar will be transparent, making bills and charges easy for customers to consume via technology.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Oscar is set to launch in January 2014. Kushner's team was just granted a New York health insurance license this month. Oscar will begin enrolling New Yorkers this fall who are seeking insurance under Obama's Affordable Care Act. Schlosser, Nazemi, and Kushner are joined by 22 employees including CTO <span>Fredrik Nylander,&nbsp;</span>former head of engineering and operations at Tumblr. Vinod Khosla and&nbsp;<span>Charlie Baker, a former Governor candidate who ran Harvard Pilgrim in Massachusetts,</span>&nbsp;are on Oscar's board.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Raising $40 million before launch isn't always smart. It didn't work out for Sean Parker, who raised $34 million for a social video company Airtime, or Bill Nguyen who raised $41 million for Color, which flopped. But we're told all $40 million of this fundraise, which comes from Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, and a number of angel investors, is necessary. Reinventing the health care industry isn't easy, and most of the money Kushner has raised isn't operational; $29 million of the $40 million fundraise is stashed away in reserves thanks to industry regulations.</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Oscar is Kushner's third venture. His first, Vostu, was a gaming company that rivaled Zynga in Brazil but has since gone through a series of layoffs. Kushner stepped away from Vostu when he raised Thrive Capital's first institutional round in 2011, the investment firm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9">he started when he was 25</a>.&nbsp;Thrive Capital has raised more than $200 million to invest in startups. Kushner will continue running Thrive Capital while working on Oscar.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-launches-health-insurance-startup-oscar-2013-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/karlie-kloss-is-dating-a-trump-in-law-2012-11Victoria's Secret Model Karlie Kloss Is Reportedly Dating Tech Investor Joshua Kushnerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/karlie-kloss-is-dating-a-trump-in-law-2012-11
Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:39:00 -0500Ashley Lutz
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/509d3e7769beddaf1d000016-400-300/victorias-secret-fashion-show-2012.jpg" border="0" alt="victoria's secret fashion show 2012" width="400" height="300" /></p><p>Karlie Kloss just walked in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/victorias-secret" class="hidden_link">Victoria's Secret</a> show the other night.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now, <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/victorias-secret-model-karlie-kloss-dating-joshua-kushner-2012811#ixzz2BjtNMWkH">there are reports</a>&nbsp;the 20-year-old is dating 27-year-old financier <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Kushner">Joshua Kushner</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Kushner has a connection to the Trumps: his brother, Jared, is married to Donald's oldest daughter, Ivanka.&nbsp;</p>
<p>UsWeekly <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/victorias-secret-model-karlie-kloss-dating-joshua-kushner-2012811#ixzz2BjtNMWkH">reports</a>:&nbsp;</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"They are really cute together," a source tells&nbsp;Us&nbsp;of Kloss and her handsome beau, a social gaming entrepreneur and venture capitalist who's pals with&nbsp;Ashton Kutcher&nbsp;(a successful dot-com investor in his own right).</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">At Lavo, the insider continues, the 27-year-old <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/instagram" class="hidden_link">Instagram</a> investor "seemed nervous and shy around everyone but handled it well. Karlie is stunning and the sweetest girl ever. She stuck close to him."</p>
<p>&nbsp;Victoria's Secret had no comment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here's a picture of Kushner:&nbsp;</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4e78eb926bb3f7ed49000015-400-300/josh-kushner.jpg" border="0" alt="Josh Kushner" width="590" /></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-victorias-secret-fashion-show-2012-2012-11">The Most Outrageous Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Ever &gt;</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/karlie-kloss-is-dating-a-trump-in-law-2012-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-investor-joshua-kushner-has-raised-a-150-million-fund-2012-926-Year-Old Instagram Investor Joshua Kushner Has Raised A $150 Million Fundhttp://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-investor-joshua-kushner-has-raised-a-150-million-fund-2012-9
Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:07:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4f455386ecad045839000029/josh-kushner.jpg" border="0" alt="Josh Kushner" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/joshua-kushner" class="hidden_link">Joshua Kushner</a> has been investing in startups for two years. In that short time, he's made a lot of smart moves.</p>
<p>One of his first investments was a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/hotpotato" class="hidden_link">Hot Potato</a>, a startup that was later acquired by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a>. Then he invested in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/groupme" class="hidden_link">GroupMe</a>, which was acquired for ~ $80 million by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/skype" class="hidden_link">Skype</a>.<br /><br />This year <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/josh-kushner-thrive-capital-and-instagram-2012-4">Kushner, 26, invested in Instagram's $50 million round.</a> Days later it was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion.</p>
<p>Kushner's early wins landed his firm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/thrive-capital" class="hidden_link">Thrive Capital</a> a second, $40 million fund last year. Today <a href="http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/thrive-capital-raises-150-million-fund-bolstering-profile/?smid=tw-nytimesdealbook&amp;seid=auto">Thrive Capital announced a new $150 million fund.</a></p>
<p>It took Kushner about 10 weeks to raise the fund, says The New York Times' Evelyn Rusli. It was oversubscribed.</p>
<p>Kushner's other early investment wins include <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/fab" class="hidden_link">Fab</a>.com, which recently raised $105 million, hot crowdfunding startup <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/kickstarter" class="hidden_link">Kickstarter</a>, and Dwolla, a round that was so competitive <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dwolla-investors-funding-2011-12">700 investors inquired.</a></p>
<p>Kushner isn't the first successful businessman in his family. His father was real estate mogul Charles Kushner, and his brother Jared runs the New York Observer.<br /><br />Although it's too early to judge Kushner's venture capital career (the best funds in history have an <a href="http://www.angelblog.net/Venture_Capital_Exit_Times.html">average hold time of ~ 7 years per investment)</a>, he's off to a promising start.</p>
<p>His strategy: "Thrive is opportunity drive," Kushner told <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/the-new-york-times" class="hidden_link">The New York Times</a>. "We invest in assets as opposed to stage or geography."</p>
<p>And despite any Facebook fallout, Kushner is optimistic about the startup environment.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Many see the way the Internet has already transformed our daily lives and conclude that most of the change that was going to happen already has,&rdquo; he tells NYT. &ldquo;I am of the belief that it is only the beginning.&rdquo;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-investor-joshua-kushner-has-raised-a-150-million-fund-2012-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/josh-kushner-thrive-capital-and-instagram-2012-4Meet Instagram's Youngest Investor, He's 26 And Made A 2X Return In One Weekhttp://www.businessinsider.com/josh-kushner-thrive-capital-and-instagram-2012-4
Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:06:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4c9cb8ee7f8b9a13550e0100/joshua-kushner.jpg" border="0" alt="Joshua Kushner" /></p><p>Just days before <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a> acquired <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/instagram" class="hidden_link">Instagram</a> for $1 billion, a few VC firms bought a piece of the company.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/greylock" class="hidden_link">Greylock</a> Partners, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/sequoia-capital" class="hidden_link">Sequoia Capital</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/thrive-capital" class="hidden_link">Thrive Capital</a> all invested $50 million in Instagram at a $500 million valuation last week. Sources tell us they weren't expecting Instagram to exit quickly. They expected to be with Instagram for the long haul, helping it grow into a massive company. Facebook wasn't a part of last week's funding talks at all.</p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/confirmed-instagram-closed-a-50-million-financing-at-a-500-million-valuation-before-it-was-acquired-by-facebook-2012-4">Facebook learned of the $50 million cash infusion, it swooped in</a> and made an offer CEO <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/kevin-systrom-1" class="hidden_link">Kevin Systrom</a> couldn't refuse. The $1 billion deal happened quickly, in the last 48 hours.</p>
<p>It's impressive to see Thrive Capital in the mix alongside much older, established firms, Sequoia and Greylock. Thrive is only two years old and it's run by a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/can-a-25-year-old-really-compete-with-seasoned-venture-capitalists-2010-10">26-year-old, Joshua Kushner.</a></p>
<p>Four years ago, Joshua Kushner attended Harvard undergrad and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vostu-office-tour">co-founded a gaming company, Vostu</a>. <a href="http://www.vostu.com">Vostu</a> is big in Latin America with 30 million+ users.</p>
<p>In 2010, Kushner launched <a href="http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-09-24/tech/29974189_1_mario-schlosser-digital-media-daniel-kafie">Thrive Capital and raised a $10 million fund</a>; he brought on big-name advisors including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter" class="hidden_link">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/square" class="hidden_link">Square</a> co-founder <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/jack-dorsey" class="hidden_link">Jack Dorsey</a> and Joel Cutler of General Catalyst.</p>
<p>After investing in more than 15 startups including two with exits, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/groupme" class="hidden_link">GroupMe</a> to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/skype" class="hidden_link">Skype</a> and HotPotato to Facebook, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thrive-capital-raises-40-million-fund-2011-8">Kushner raised a $40 million fund that can scale to $100 million</a> last August.</p>
<p>Since launching Thrive, Kushner has made an impressive portfolio for himself. His investments include crowdsource funding site <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com">Kickstarter</a>, payment company <a href="http://www.dwolla.com">Dwolla</a>, home decor site <a href="http://www.fab.com">Fab</a>, discount glasses retailer <a href="http://www.warbyparker.com/">Warby Parker</a>, and learn-to-code company, <a href="http://www.codecademy.com">Codecademy</a>.</p>
<p>Dwolla, Warby Parker and Codecademy were some of the most desired funding rounds among investors last year. Dwolla, for example, had inbound requests from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dwolla-investors-funding-2011-12">more than 700 investors</a>. Kushner was one of a handful to work his way into the deal.</p>
<p>Kushner is extremely well connected. Aside from his impressive list of advisors, he's also <a href="http://www.details.com/social/201109/joshua-kushner-interview">good friends with Ashton Kutcher</a>, whom he met through his brother, Jared. Jared owns the New York Observer and is married to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/ivanka-trump" class="hidden_link">Ivanka Trump</a>. Kutcher and Kushner have invested in several startups together, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ashton-kutcher-dwolla-investor-2012-2">including Dwolla</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/fab" class="hidden_link">Fab</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, it's nearly impossible to judge the success of a two-year-old fund like Kushner's. The best funds in history have an <a href="http://www.angelblog.net/Venture_Capital_Exit_Times.html">average hold time of ~ 7 years per investment.</a>&nbsp;</p>
<p>And in most cases, Instagram included, making a 2X return isn't ideal for an investor -- investors seek a minimum of a 3-5X return on their entire fund and often seek returns of 10X+ on individual deals to get there. Instagram's quick acquisition is more lucky for Kushner than telling of his portfolio management talents.</p>
<p>Still, with exits like GroupMe, HotPotato and Instagram, Kushner is returning capital quickly to his LPs and rapidly building cards for himself, which is mostly what matters in the venture game anyway. And he'll be able to play those cards to get into future financing rounds at hot companies and continue proving himself as an investor.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>To learn more about Instagram's other investors, check out: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-employees-and-investors-2012-4?utm_source=mostread&amp;utm_medium=rightrail&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=1&amp;utm_campaign=recirc#kevin-systrom-is-instagrams-ceo-and-co-founder-1">The 13 Lucky Employees And 9 Investors Behind $1 Billion Instagram &gt;</a></strong></p>
<p>Watch below an archive interview with Josh Kushner about competing with seasoned VCs:</p>
<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?width=560&amp;height=316&amp;embedCode=13YWJzMTrWO90bIhU-B8tUgieb-nmd0-&amp;videoPcode=BhdmY6l9g002rBhQ6aEBZiheacDu" type="text/javascript"></script>
<noscript><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ooyalaPlayer_1lu3n_h0vb85y1" width="560" height="316" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/swflash.cab"><param name="movie" value="http://player.ooyala.com/player.swf?embedCode=13YWJzMTrWO90bIhU-B8tUgieb-nmd0-&version=2" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="embedType=noscriptObjectTag&embedCode=13YWJzMTrWO90bIhU-B8tUgieb-nmd0-&videoPcode=BhdmY6l9g002rBhQ6aEBZiheacDu" /><embed src="http://player.ooyala.com/player.swf?embedCode=13YWJzMTrWO90bIhU-B8tUgieb-nmd0-&version=2" bgcolor="#000000" width="560" height="316" name="ooyalaPlayer_1lu3n_h0vb85y1" align="middle" play="true" loop="false" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="&embedCode=13YWJzMTrWO90bIhU-B8tUgieb-nmd0-&videoPcode=BhdmY6l9g002rBhQ6aEBZiheacDu" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></object></noscript><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/josh-kushner-thrive-capital-and-instagram-2012-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/dwolla-5-million-union-square-ventures-series-b-2012-2Dwolla Raises $5 Million From Union Square Ventures To Continue Building Its (Nearly) Fee-Free Payment Networkhttp://www.businessinsider.com/dwolla-5-million-union-square-ventures-series-b-2012-2
Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0500Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4ee0f0fc6bb3f7634c00001f/ben-milne-dwolla.jpg" border="0" alt="Ben Milne Dwolla" /></p><p><strong></strong>Credit card fees really add up.&nbsp; Ben Milne's business was losing $55,000 per year to them, so he created Dwolla to side step the charges altogether.</p>
<p>Dwolla is a 17-person startup that is creating a nearly fee-free payment network.&nbsp; Credit cards and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/paypal" class="hidden_link">PayPal</a> charge merchants between 3 and 5% for most transactions. Dwolla charges a flat fee of $0.25. Transactions less than $10 are free.</p>
<p>The startup just raised a $5 million Series B round of financing to keep pounding the pavement. The round was led by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/union-square-ventures" class="hidden_link">Union Square Ventures</a>; partner <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/albert-wenger" class="hidden_link">Albert Wenger</a> is joining the board. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/village-ventures" class="hidden_link">Village Ventures</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/thrive-capital" class="hidden_link">Thrive Capital</a>, Paige Craig and Marc Ecko also participated.</p>
<p>Dwolla has grown its network to 80,000 account holders who are moving millions of dollars per day. "Since we passed over the $1 million per day mark, we've been focused on getting to $3 million per day; we haven't gotten there quite yet," says Milne.</p>
<p>With numbers like that, Dwolla could have raised much more than $5 million. In fact, Milne had to keep a spreadsheet of 700 names to manage all the inbound investor interest. But Milne kept his wits about him.</p>
<p>"We knew exactly how much we wanted to raise and had an idea of who we wanted to raise it from," says Milne. The fundraising process took 4-6 months to complete.&nbsp; "We wanted a partner to help us in the financial space -- that's Village Ventures.&nbsp; We wanted someone to help us with APIs&nbsp; -- that's USV.&nbsp; We wanted someone for marketing and growth and that's Thrive, and we wanted a couple of people we could completely trust, and that's Paige and Marc."</p>
<p>"The investment is all about getting the product out nationally," says Milne. "Union Square Ventures can help build the brand and build the beginning of something we think will be really, really badass," says Milne.</p>
<p>Village Ventures is also an investor in Simple, a buzzy new take on payments, which aligns well with Dwolla.</p>
<p>Josh Kushner of Thrive also impressed Milne. "Josh came out and spent time in our office.&nbsp; I was surprised how quickly he understood the big picture and started providing tons of value," says Milne.&nbsp; "He spent his winter holiday talking to me on the phone."</p>
<p>A lot of Milne's focus moving forward will be to educate users and merchants about Dwolla. "A lot of people think, 'Where the hell do I use it?' Our message will continue to get defined," says Milne.&nbsp; Part of that means building APIs so more people can implement Dwolla and understand how its process works.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The API-focus is part of a broader mobile focus too.&nbsp; "Mobile is important because people are going to transition away from using physical cards to make payments.&nbsp; We want to make sure, with our payment network, having a phone is useful."</p>
<p>Milne says his staff is moving across the street to a bigger office in Iowa where it plans to stay.</p>
<p>"The office is a little higher up than the last one and it has a better view -- we wanted to make sure our staff knew we were moving on up!" says Milne. "We will definitely be staying in Iowa and we picked investors who support where we're from."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dwolla-5-million-union-square-ventures-series-b-2012-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/sailthru-raises-8-million-round-led-by-rre-ventures-2011-9Smart Email Provider Sailthru Raises $8 Million Round Led By RRE Ventureshttp://www.businessinsider.com/sailthru-raises-8-million-round-led-by-rre-ventures-2011-9
Tue, 20 Sep 2011 07:59:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4e77c82becad04203c00003e/neil-ian.jpg" border="0" alt="Neil Ian" /></p><p><strong>Sailthru</strong>, <span>a New York startup that personalizes and recommends web content for users,</span> just raised an $8 million Series A round led by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/rre-ventures" class="hidden_link">RRE Ventures</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/aol" class="hidden_link">AOL</a> Ventures, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/dfj-gotham" class="hidden_link">DFJ Gotham</a> Ventures, Hatteras Funds, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/lerer-ventures" class="hidden_link">Lerer Ventures</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/pilot-group" class="hidden_link">Pilot Group</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9">Thrive Capital</a> also participated in the round.</p>
<p>Cofounder <strong>Neil Capel</strong> tells us investors were excited by Sailthru's 30% month over month revenue growth. The startup has been cash-flow positive since April.</p>
<p>Sailthru began as an email service provider in 2008; it has since launched behaviorally-targeted tools used by more than 80 publishers and e-commerce sites.</p>
<p>Sailthru uses JavaScript to track everything users do on partner websites, from articles they read to items they view. Sailthru uses the information to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/yournews">personalize and recommend content</a>, both on the sites and in email newsletters, which keep users engaged.&nbsp;</p>
<p>For instance, if a woman is looking at a black purse on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/gilt-groupe" class="hidden_link">Gilt Groupe</a>, Sailthru might recommend another black bag for her to view next. And, If you go to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/yournews">Business Insider - Your News</a>, you can see which articles Sailthru is recommending for you based on your recent reads.</p>
<p>"I wanted to build a system that solved the problems I had as a CTO," says Capel.&nbsp; "Email service providers only make it easy to send mass mail, not to communicate with individuals. Sailthru elongates the lifetime of every user on a website."</p>
<p>Capel says Sailthru will use the financing to double its staff from 30 to 60 people over the next twelve months. It will also be launching a behaviorally-targeted advertising product. It previously <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sailthru-funding-2010-7">received $1 million in financing from DFJ Gotham</a> in 2010.</p>
<p><em>Disclosure: Ian White, cofounder of Sailthru, was an early <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/business-insider" class="hidden_link">Business Insider</a> employee and we're happy for him!<br /></em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sailthru-raises-8-million-round-led-by-rre-ventures-2011-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/vostu-acquires-mp-game-studio-2011-9Vostu, The Biggest Facebook Game Maker In Brazil, Acquires MP Game Studiohttp://www.businessinsider.com/vostu-acquires-mp-game-studio-2011-9
Wed, 07 Sep 2011 09:55:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4e678232ecad04f42f000013/vostu-ceo-dan.jpg" border="0" alt="vostu ceo dan" /></p><p>Brazil-based gaming company <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/vostu" class="hidden_link">Vostu</a> has acquired MP Game Studio for an undisclosed amount.</p>
<p>MP Game Studio is a social game developer, not a platform, so this is not a user acquisition deal.&nbsp; MP Game Studios has developed more than 25 games and its employees will relocate to Vostu's Buenos Aires headquarters.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/vostu" class="hidden_link">Vostu</a> will release the first game from the acquisition over the next few weeks.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/vostu" class="hidden_link">Vostu</a> currently has 550 employees and 42 million registered users. It raised $50 million from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/accel" class="hidden_link">Accel Partners</a> and Tiger Global.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vostu-acquires-mp-game-studio-2011-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition-tickets-way-cheaper-than-full-price-but-not-for-long-2011-8IGNITION Tickets: Way Cheaper Than Full Price, But Not For Longhttp://www.businessinsider.com/ignition-tickets-way-cheaper-than-full-price-but-not-for-long-2011-8
Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:00:00 -0400Arden Pennell
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<p>Want to hear directly from leaders at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter" class="hidden_link">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/linkedin" class="hidden_link">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/hearst" class="hidden_link">Hearst</a>, and cutting-edge emerging media companies? We thought so -- and we're thrilled to announce some new speakers to IGNITION, Business Insider's second-annual conference on the future of media, including:</p>
<ul>
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/adam-bain" class="hidden_link">Adam Bain</a>, CRO, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter" class="hidden_link">Twitter</a></span></p>
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Jon Miller, Chief Digital Officer, News Corporation</span></p>
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Deep Nishar, SVP of Products and User Experience, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/linkedin" class="hidden_link">LinkedIn</a></span></p>
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Josh Kushner, Founder, Thrive Capital&nbsp;</span></p>
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<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2011/speakers">and many more!</a></span></p>
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<p>If you're planning to attend, now is the best time to <a href="http://businessinsider.ticketleap.com/ignition2011/">buy your ticket.</a> Our ultra-early-bird discount -- more than 50% off full price -- is ending soon. Ticket prices jump up next week, on Sept. 1. &nbsp;</p>
<p>What will your ticket buy you? Well, we covered the news that one of Kushner's portfolio companies, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/groupme" class="hidden_link">GroupMe</a>, is to be acquired by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/skype" class="hidden_link">Skype</a> earlier this week. And on Nov. 30, when IGNITION kicks off at the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/time-warner" class="hidden_link">Time Warner</a> Center in New York City, more breaking news, fresh perspectives, and valuable market knowledge will be revealed and hashed out onstage. But don't take our word for it. See for yourself. We invite your comments and suggestions. See you at the event!&nbsp;</p>
<p>For more information on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011">IGNITION</a>, including how to register, sponsorship opportunities, a complete speaker list and agenda,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011">please click here.</a></p>
<p style="color: #000000;"><a href="http://businessinsider.ticketleap.com/ignition2011/"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.comhttp://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4e298d3c49e2ae77511d0000/ignition-register-now-button-orange.png" border="0" alt="Ignition register now button orange" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
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<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/sheryl-sandberg" class="hidden_link">Sheryl Sandberg</a></strong>, COO, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a></p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4e03a088ccd1d58b581f0000/adam-bain-of-twitter.jpg" border="0" alt="<a class=" width="360" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/adam-bain" class="hidden_link">Adam Bain</a>, CRO, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter" class="hidden_link">Twitter</a></p>
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</table><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition-tickets-way-cheaper-than-full-price-but-not-for-long-2011-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/thrive-capital-raises-40-million-fund-2011-826-Year-Old Investor Raises $40 Million More For His Fund, Thrive Capitalhttp://www.businessinsider.com/thrive-capital-raises-40-million-fund-2011-8
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:40:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4cc9e9394bd7c81c2b030000/joshua-kushner-mba.jpg" border="0" alt="joshua-kushner-mba" /></p><p>Today is a good day to be 26-year-old investor, Josh Kushner.</p>
<p>One of his portfolio companies, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-groupme">GroupMe, was just acquired by Skype for $85 million.</a> And it turns out Kushner has been raising some money of his own.</p>
<p><a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/08/22/new-fund-for-groupme-vc-thrive/">Thrive Capital, Kushner's VC firm, just raised another $40 million for its second fund</a>.</p>
<p>The fund has a co-investment structure with limited partners, which means that Kushner could be writing much larger checks. Thrive will have the flexibility to scale up to $100 million. Investors include <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/princeton-university" class="hidden_link">Princeton University</a>, Hall Capital Partners, Wellcome Trust, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/peter-thiel" class="hidden_link">Peter Thiel</a>.</p>
<p>In the year since Kusher raised the first $10 million for Thrive, he has made 27 investments. His portfolio includes HotPotato which sold to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a>, Onswipe, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/artsy" class="hidden_link">Art.sy</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/fab" class="hidden_link">Fab</a>, Warby Parker, Zaarly, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/kickstarter" class="hidden_link">Kickstarter</a>, Greplin and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/banksimple" class="hidden_link">BankSimple</a>.</p>
<p>Kushner is the founder of Brazil gaming company, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/vostu" class="hidden_link">Vostu</a>. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/vostu" class="hidden_link">Vostu</a> currently has 35 million registered users in Brazil, 600 employees, and it has raised $50 million to date. His brother, Jared, runs The New York Observer. Thrive is currently a team of three, and will likely hire a few more members with the fresh cash.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thrive-capital-raises-40-million-fund-2011-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011/new-speakers-2011-08Announcing New Speakers And Topics For IGNITIONhttp://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011/new-speakers-2011-08
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:45:00 -0400Arden Pennell
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<td><img src="http://static.businessinsider.com/image/4b4faed90000000000261c20/spacer.gif" border="0" width="81" height="1" /><a href="http://businessinsider.ticketleap.com/ignition2011/"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.comhttp://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4e298d3c49e2ae77511d0000/ignition-register-now-button-orange.png" border="0" alt="Ignition register now button orange" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></td>
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<p>The second-annual <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/business-insider" class="hidden_link">Business Insider</a> IGNITION conference on the future of media is taking shape. (In case you've missed prior announcements, IGNITION is Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, 2011.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011">Info and tickets are here</a>.)</p>
<p>We're excited to announce a handful of new&nbsp;speakers. They will share insights not only on technology changes at the forefront of media, but also on the latest strategy within major media companies. Joining keynote speaker <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/sheryl-sandberg" class="hidden_link">Sheryl Sandberg</a> of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a> are:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Adam Bain</strong>, CRO of Twitter</li>
<li><strong>Gina Bianchini</strong>, the former Ning CEO now at the helm of a yet-to-be-announced startup (which you're likely to hear a lot more about at IGNITION)</li>
<li><strong>Vivian Schiller</strong>, the chief digital officer at NBC News</li>
<li><strong>Elizabeth Spiers</strong>, editor of the New York Observer. &nbsp;(Yes, that's the Schiller who left her post as CEO at NPR to steer NBC news, and the Spiers who was a founding editor of Gawker, among other properties, before taking over at the Observer this year.)</li>
<li><strong>Josh Kushner</strong>, investor at Thrive Capital whose early investments include Group.Me, Paperless Post, and Sailthru</li>
<li><strong>Seth Goldstein</strong>, Co-founder of red-hot NYC startup, Turntable.fm</li>
<li>and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011/speakers">many more</a></li>
</ul>
<p>We have new sessions to announce, among them:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>The strategic perspective on Big Data: The 3 questions media companies need to be asking their data teams.<br /><br /></strong>Experts addressing this topic include Hilary Mason, Bit.ly's chief scientist, and John Borthwick, CEO of Betaworks, the funding group that was an early advocate for using data smartly. Leaving out highly technical language, this discussion will cut to the core of why data matters to media companies -- and how to think about it.<br />&nbsp;</li>
<li><strong>R.I.P. Mad Men: Automation, Fragmentation and the New World Order of Advertising.</strong> Given tectonic shifts in advertising, who holds the power now? And how will that change?<br /><br />What are the underlying technological and behavioral changes that will reshape the advertising industry in the next 5 years?&nbsp;Ad maven and strategist Doug Weaver will moderate, joined by speakers including Randall Rothenberg, CEO and Chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.</li>
</ul>
<p>For more information on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011">IGNITION</a>, including how to register, sponsorship opportunities, a complete speaker list and agenda,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011">please click here.</a></p>
<p>We invite your comments and suggestions. See you at the event!</p>
<p><a href="http://businessinsider.ticketleap.com/ignition2011/"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.comhttp://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4e298d3c49e2ae77511d0000/ignition-register-now-button-orange.png" border="0" alt="Ignition register now button orange" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
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<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4e1c8b2549e2ae1c44120000/sheryl-sandberg.jpg" border="0" alt="Sheryl Sandberg" width="360" /></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/sheryl-sandberg" class="hidden_link">Sheryl Sandberg</a></strong>, COO, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a></p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4e03a088ccd1d58b581f0000/adam-bain-of-twitter.jpg" border="0" alt="Adam Bain of Twitter" width="360" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/adam-bain" class="hidden_link">Adam Bain</a>, CRO, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter" class="hidden_link">Twitter</a></p>
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</table><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ignition/2011/new-speakers-2011-08#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/zynga-says-new-york-scion-josh-kushners-company-is-a-ripoff--and-boy-does-the-evidence-look-bad-2011-6Zynga Says New York Scion Josh Kushner's Company Is A Ripoff – And Boy Does The Evidence Look Badhttp://www.businessinsider.com/zynga-says-new-york-scion-josh-kushners-company-is-a-ripoff--and-boy-does-the-evidence-look-bad-2011-6
Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:02:00 -0400Nicholas Carlson
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4cb486327f8b9a9943140000/kushner.jpg" border="0" alt="Kushner" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/zynga-1" class="hidden_link">Zynga</a> is suing a big-in-Brazil social gaming company called <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/vostu" class="hidden_link">Vostu</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/zynga" class="hidden_link">Zynga</a> says that Vostu has copied "all of our key product features, product strategy, branding, mission statement and employee benefits lock, stock and barrel."</p>
<p>Vostu was cofounded by New York scion <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/joshua-kushner" class="hidden_link">Joshua Kushner</a>, lately an active angel investor.</p>
<p>In its complaint, Zynga lists the dates of its own games' releases side-by-side with similarly named copycats from Vostu.</p>
<p>Then Zynga produces side-by-screen screenshot comparisons of its games and Vostu's.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It's all very damning.&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Update: Vostu has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/vostu-responds-to-zynga-lawsuit-2011-6">responded</a>.</strong></p><h3>The pattern is clear: Zynga launches a game and Vostu comes out with a copy a few months later</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4dfa5f9d4bd7c8a34b000000-400-300/the-pattern-is-clear-zynga-launches-a-game-and-vostu-comes-out-with-a-copy-a-few-months-later.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Zynga says Vostu even changed its logo to look like Zynga's</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4dfa5f9c49e2ae496f040000-400-300/zynga-says-vostu-even-changed-its-logo-to-look-like-zyngas.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Zynga alleges that Vostu's MegaCity "replicates Zynga’s CityVille not just in the same storyline of creating an online city…"</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4dfa5f9eccd1d5ba370c0000-400-300/zynga-alleges-that-vostus-megacity-replicates-zyngas-cityville-not-just-in-the-same-storyline-of-creating-an-online-city.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zynga-says-new-york-scion-josh-kushners-company-is-a-ripoff--and-boy-does-the-evidence-look-bad-2011-6#but-with-the-same-buildings-land-plots-street-arrangements-decorations-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/bloody-mess-vc-josh-kushner-gets-his-hand-gashed-working-at-general-assembly-has-to-get-17-stitches-2011-1BLOODY MESS: VC Josh Kushner Gets His Hand Gashed Working At General Assembly, Has To Get 17 Stitcheshttp://www.businessinsider.com/bloody-mess-vc-josh-kushner-gets-his-hand-gashed-working-at-general-assembly-has-to-get-17-stitches-2011-1
Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:32:00 -0500Nicholas Carlson
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4d3d99704bd7c81c52010000-403-267/general-assembly-joshua-kushner.jpg" border="0" alt="General Assembly Joshua Kushner" width="403" height="267" /></p><p>Up-and-coming VC <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/joshua-kushner" class="hidden_link">Joshua Kushner</a> was just standing there, leaning on a glass door in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/general-assembly-tour-2011-1">New York's hottest new co-working space</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/general-assembly" class="hidden_link">General Assembly</a> when &ndash; uh oh &ndash; the heavy door started to fall.</p>
<p>As it fell, Josh, trying to be helpful, reached out to catch it.</p>
<p>Whoops.</p>
<p>The big heavy thing caught Josh's palm and forearm and one of its edges slashed a big bloody gash in the guy.</p>
<p>He had to go to the hospital and get 17 stitches, we hear.</p>
<p>Josh has been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9">hand-shaking over a ton of deals lately</a>, so he's going to need that right hand to get better.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/general-assembly-tour-2011-1">Click here for a tour of General Assembly &gt;&gt;</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bloody-mess-vc-josh-kushner-gets-his-hand-gashed-working-at-general-assembly-has-to-get-17-stitches-2011-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/artsy-funding-2010-11Eric Schmidt, Wendi Murdoch, And Other Huge Names Are Betting On Art.sy To Shake Up The Art Market (GOOG, NWS)http://www.businessinsider.com/artsy-funding-2010-11
Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:24:00 -0500Dan Frommer
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4cdb137149e2ae8306020000/artsy.jpg" border="0" alt="Artsy" /></p><p>Some of the biggest names in the technology, media, and fine art worlds are coming together to invest in <a href="http://art.sy/">Art.sy</a>, a New York-based startup that aims to disrupt the fine-art market, we hear.</p>
<p>Led by its 24-year-old founder/CEO, Carter Cleveland, Art.sy aims to give art galleries around the world an online presence. And, using an "art genome" technology -- sort of like "Pandora for art" -- Art.sy will try to recommend art to would-be buyers, based on their personal taste.</p>
<p>The company has put together a very impressive list of partners, investors, and advisers, we hear, as it closes a round of financing, and attracts interest from galleries.</p>
<p>These people include:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Wendi Murdoch</strong>, Chinese art collector (and wife of Rupert Murdoch), who is investing and will be active in the business</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dasha Zhukova</strong>, art figure and former editor of Pop Magazine, who is investing and will be active in the business</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Larry Gagosian</strong>, top art dealer, who will actively advise the company</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Google CEO <strong>Eric Schmidt</strong>, who is investing personally</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Jim Breyer</strong>, partner at Accel and MoMA SF board member, who is investing personally</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Thrive Capital's&nbsp;<strong>Joshua Kushner</strong>, who is leading the investment round</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Twitter creator and Square cofounder/CEO <strong>Jack Dorsey</strong>, who is investing</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Hunch CEO <strong>Chris Dixon</strong>, who is investing via Founder Collective</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Path CEO and former Facebook star <strong>Dave Morin</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sa100" target="_blank">The Silicon Alley 100: New York's Coolest Tech People In 2010</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/artsy-funding-2010-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/can-a-25-year-old-really-compete-with-seasoned-venture-capitalists-2010-10Can A 25-Year-Old Really Compete With Seasoned Venture Capitalists?http://www.businessinsider.com/can-a-25-year-old-really-compete-with-seasoned-venture-capitalists-2010-10
Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:42:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>"It takes a while to get from entry level to becoming someone who is a very experienced and influential investor," says well-respected venture capitalist Fred Wilson. "It took me 25 years."</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9">Joshua Kushner</a>, founder of Thrive Capital, is trying to do it in half the time.&nbsp; He is only 25, but he's already a co-founder turned Venture Capitalist with one exit (Hot Potato to Facebook) under his belt.<br /><br />Is his work being taken seriously by the community? "I feel like being involved as an entrepreneur and a VC, people respect my age," he says.</p>
<p>At the very least, he's learning a lot from his investments. "It goes both ways, because some of the people that I've invested in have helped me think about some of the things that I'm focusing on in a much different way."<br /><br />Here's how Kushner is making his investment decisions, and what he's bringing to the new york tech scene.</p>
<p><strong>And Don't Miss...</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-mba-2010-10">Here Is Why VC And Entrepreneur Joshua Kushner Is Bothering To Get His MBA</a><br /></strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="../../tony-hsieh-value-of-a-college-education-2010-10">Hey, Entrepreneurs, Skip The MBA And Use The Money To Start Businesses</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-life-before-zappos-2010-10"><strong>How Tony Hsieh Rebelled Against His Parents And Became An Entrepreneur</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-why-i-sold-zappos-to-amazon-2010-10"><strong>Tony Hsieh: Here's Why I Sold Zappos To Amazon</strong></a></p>
<p><em>Produced By: Kamelia Angelova &amp; William Wei</em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/can-a-25-year-old-really-compete-with-seasoned-venture-capitalists-2010-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-mba-2010-10Here Is Why VC And Entrepreneur Joshua Kushner Is Bothering To Get His MBAhttp://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-mba-2010-10
Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:47:00 -0400Alyson Shontell
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/joshua-kushner">Joshua Kushner</a> is the 25-year-old founder of startup investment firm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/thrive-capital">Thrive Capital</a> and co-founder of social gaming startup Vostu. Oh &ndash; and he's also in the middle of getting his MBA at Harvard Business School.</p>
<p>So, what is a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9">young and successful entrepreneur</a> like Kushner doing in business school?</p>
<p>"I feel like there is a loss in time by studying, in my opinion, what you really don't develop skills from," Kushner tells us. "But it makes you a much better, smarter, more well-rounded person."</p>
<p>Joshua Kushner contributes to the great MBA debate and gives a voice to the pro-MBA side.</p>
<p><strong>COUNTERPOINT From Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-value-of-a-college-education-2010-10">Hey, Entrepreneurs, Skip The MBA And Use The Money To Start Businesses</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>And Don't Miss...</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-life-before-zappos-2010-10"><strong>Here Is How I Rebelled Against My Parents And Became An Entrepreneur</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-how-i-made-my-millions-2010-10"><strong>Why Tony Hsieh Quit His Corporate Job At Oracle Without Any Plans</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsieh-why-i-sold-zappos-to-amazon-2010-10"><strong>Tony Hsieh: Here's Why I Sold Zappos To Amazon</strong></a></p>
<p><em>Produced By: Kamelia Angelova &amp; William Wei</em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-mba-2010-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9This 25-Year-Old Kid Just Funded 15 Startupshttp://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9
Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:08:00 -0400Dan Frommer
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4c9cb8ee7f8b9a13550e0100/joshua-kushner.jpg" border="0" alt="Joshua Kushner" /></p><p>One of New York's newest and most active startup investors is barely old enough to rent a car. But <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/joshua-kushner">Joshua Kushner</a>, founder of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/thrive-capital">Thrive Capital</a>, is also no typical 25-year-old.</p>
<p>There's obviously the family connections: His dad is real estate mogul <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Kushner">Charles Kushner</a>, and his brother Jared owns the New York Observer and is married to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/ivanka-trump">Ivanka Trump</a>.</p>
<p>But young Joshua is also already somewhat of a veteran Internet entrepreneur.</p>
<p>In 2007, as a junior at Harvard, Kushner and his classmates Daniel Kafie and Mario Schlosser cofounded a social gaming startup called <a href="http://vostu.com/en">Vostu</a>, which has become the sort-of "Zynga of Brazil."</p>
<p>Vostu, headquartered in NYC, has some 35 million registered users and 180 employees. The company has raised more than $15 million from Intel and General Catalyst, with "revenue in the high double-digit millions of dollars and 'very profitable'," <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/09/07/vostu-translates-social-games-for-brazil/">according to a recent write-up in the Wall Street Journal</a>.</p>
<p>Kushner, who is chief strategy officer, is now taking the knowledge he's gained from Vostu and investing in early stage technology and digital media companies, via a $10 million fund, whose backers include media executives, public media companies, and venture capital firms.</p>
<p>It's part of a growing trend of early-stage New York-based funds -- such as Chris Dixon's <a href="http://foundercollective.com/">Founder Collective</a>, <a href="http://www.lererventures.com/">Lerer Ventures</a>, etc. -- that's increasingly filling in the funding gap before big VC firms.</p>
<p>Over the past year and a half, Kushner has invested in 15 companies, including 12 in New York; his portfolio includes red-hot Group.Me, Paperless Post, email startup Sailthru, and Hot Potato, which was just acquired by Facebook. (And others, which he declined to talk about.)</p>
<p>Now he's looking to do a bunch more deals in the consumer Internet, digital media, and social media industries, participating in seed rounds and early VC rounds.</p>
<p>Kushner has assembled a solid roster of advisors, including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/jack-dorsey">Jack Dorsey</a>, who created Twitter and cofounded Square; Joel Cutler, co-founder of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/general-catalyst-partners">General Catalyst</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/kayak">Kayak</a> board member; <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/strauss-zelnick">Strauss Zelnick</a> of Zelnick Media; Sam Lessin of Drop.io; and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/justin-shaffer">Justin Shaffer</a>, the former MLB.com exec who founded Hot Potato and is now at Facebook.</p>
<p>And to top things off, in addition to running his fund and working at Vostu, Kushner is also taking two days of classes per week at Harvard Business School.</p>
<p>A busy guy, but his youth and native Internet knowledge should help him continue to get into good deals, especially in New York.</p>
<p>As one seasoned New York investor and Internet executive says of Joshua, "He is very young but actually very smart with good connections."</p>
<p><strong>Don't miss: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/digital-100">The Digital 100: The World's Most Valuable Startups</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-kushner-2010-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>